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Kavanaugh Hearing: The Supreme Court nominee and Christine Blasey Ford, who has accused him of sexual assault, testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee. The hearing starts at 10 a.m.

Trump's Day: The president is expected to hold a highly anticipated meeting with Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, but Mr. Trump said he may postpone the meeting to avoid distracting the Senate hearing.

Trade: U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer plans to tell members of Congress that the coming Japan talks are just one item on a list of new negotiations for bilateral trade deals.

Both sides sought to bolster their credibility ahead of the hearing with Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh and his accuser, in an effort to sway both public opinion and the votes of the key undecided senators, report Kristina Peterson and Natalie Andrews. 

Here's a viewer's guide to the hearing. Follow our live coverage here.

New allegations added to the chaos leading up to the pivotal hearing, Rebecca Ballhaus and Aruna Viswanatha report. Julie Swetnick, a third accuser—in addition to Dr. Ford and a former Kavanaugh college classmate, Deborah Ramirez—alleged in a sworn declaration that she witnessed efforts by Mr. Kavanaugh and others in the early 1980s to spike drinks and “cause girls to become inebriated” so they could be assaulted. Judge Kavanaugh called the allegations “ridiculous and from the Twilight Zone.”

The Kavanaugh fight takes every raw divide in American society today—partisan, ideological, gender, class, generational—and rolls them all into one. It then folds in the anger of the #MeToo movement, the bitterness between President Trump’s supporters and Trump haters, and the profound concern that liberals and conservatives alike feel about the impact the Supreme Court on the society for decades to come. Both the emotions and the stakes, in other words, are enormous, writes Jerry Seib in his column today.

Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh and his accuser, Christine Blasey Ford, take center stage today at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing. The senators presiding over the hearing will also draw considerable attention: Here are key lawmakers to watch:

Sen. Chuck Grassley (R., Iowa), the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, must keep the hearing from spiraling out of control if he is to meet his—and President Trump’s—goal of holding a committee vote on Judge Kavanaugh's nomination on Friday. Judge Kavanaugh’s initial confirmation hearing unraveled at times into a Democratic protest over unreleased Kavanaugh-related documents. Now Mr. Grassley will face Democrats eager to air grievances that Republicans have refused to request an FBI probe.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D., Calif.) is the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee and one of the panel’s four women, who are all Democrats. Her staff has been doing research into Judge Kavanaugh’s background, which makes her a linchpin of the hearing. Her task will be to make sure her Democrats have the space to pursue their questioning.

Sen. Jeff Flake (R., Ariz.) will be one of the most closely watched senators because he was instrumental in ensuring that Dr. Ford received a hearing and because he hasn't said which way he will vote. He's expressed empathy for both witnesses. On the Senate floor on Wednesday, he said the they “are not props for us to make political points."

Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D., Minn.) could bring a thoughtful approach based on her legislative experience. She won passage of a federal law to require states to treat child prostitutes as victims instead of as criminal defendants. She has also teamed up with Sen. John Cornyn (R., Texas)—another member of the panel—on legislation to provide law-enforcement grants to better handle alcohol- or drug-facilitated sexual-assault cases among others. 

Sen. Kamala Harris (D., Calif.) has prosecuted high-profile sex crimes while serving as California’s attorney general. She presided over a case involving former San Diego Mayor Bob Filner, who in 2013 pleaded guilty to criminal charges that he grabbed and fondled women while at City Hall.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D., Conn.) is a former Connecticut attorney general known for asking probing questions and using hearings in ways that produce results outside the hearing room. In the Senate Judiciary Committee, he’s proven effective at using the committee's procedural rules to gain an edge for his line of questioning.

Sen. Orrin Hatch (R., Utah) is a strong supporter of Judge Kavanaugh, and his task will be to stay on message without inflaming Democrats and making Mr. Grassley’s task any more difficult. Mr. Hatch, like all committee Republicans, will cede his time to Rachel Mitchell, an Arizona sex-crimes prosecutor brought in to ask questions. But he isn’t shy with voicing opinions, and angered Democrats when he said that Dr. Ford might be "mixed up" about her allegations.

Write to Siobhan Hughes at siobhan.hughes@wsj.com

The Kavanaugh nomination process has seen a lot of dramatic turns. Here's how the current tumult might affect confirmation processes in the future.

President Trump accused China of trying to interfere in U.S. elections. In a speech to the United Nations Security Council, he said that Beijing doesn’t want his party to win because of their growing trade dispute. “They do not want me—or us—to win because I am the first president ever to challenge China on trade,” he said. 

President Trump said he doesn’t want to fire Rod Rosenstein. Mr. Trump also said he may postpone his highly anticipated meeting with the deputy attorney general scheduled for Thursday, Michael C. Bender reports. The comments represented the latest turn in the speculation over Mr. Rosenstein's fate at the Justice Department.

Plans for a summit between President Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un advanced. The president said the U.S. would no longer insist that Pyongyang move to rapidly dismantle its nuclear arsenal.

Trade secrets are a flashpoint in the U.S.-China trade dispute, report Lingling Wei and Bob Davis. Interviews with dozens of corporate and government officials on both sides of the Pacific, and a review of documents, reveal how systemic and methodical Beijing’s extraction of technology has become—and how unfair Chinese officials consider the complaints.

Some observers suspect that Washington’s ultimate goal is to permanently disentangle America’s economy from China’s. The situation has no precedent in post-war history, writes Greg Ip.

Many U.S. farmers say payments from the government won't make up for lost sales to China and other foreign markets, Jesse Newman reports.

The Trump administration plans to step up pressure on Canada. The administration plans to publish the draft of a new NAFTA that includes only the U.S. and Mexico, while telling Congress the move is part of a broader strategy, Jacob M. Schlesinger, William Mauldin and Valentina Pop report.

The House passed a spending bill yesterday, likely leaving it in President Trump’s hands days before funding expires on Oct. 1, Andrew Deuhren reports. The bill increases military spending for the next fiscal year and keeps the government open through Dec. 7. 

Disputes emerged at a Senate hearing over what legislation to strengthen online users’ privacy should aim to do. Many companies worry about the risks of over-regulation. Google's representative asked lawmakers to consider "the impacts on service functionality, the consumer benefits of free and low-cost products," and other potential effects on the market, reports John D. McKinnon. 

The rate of suicide among young military veterans has increased substantially, despite efforts by the Department of Veterans Affairs to curb the problem, Ben Kesling reports. Among U.S. veterans ages 18-34, suicides jumped to 45 per 100,000 population in 2016 from 40.4 in 2015, according to new data. The Veterans Crisis Line number is 1-800-273-8255.

Rep. Mark Sanford is considering voting against the extension of the 2017 tax cuts that he supported. Mr. Sanford (R., S.C.), who was defeated in a primary earlier this year, said he is torn between his long support of tax cuts and his concerns about unsustainable budget deficits. Read more updates on the 2018 midterm elections in Campaign Wire.

• Even if Brett Kavanangh is confirmed, the battle over his nomination will continue through a potential House investigation as well as the 2018 and 2020 elections. (The Atlantic)
• There is an "extremely high correlation" between whether people like Brett Kavanaugh's judicial philosophy and whether they believe the charges against him. (Reason)
• President Trump's hard line against Iran may end up isolating the U.S. internationally rather than the Iranians. (USA Today)

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